The present technology concerns beacons, and related improvements. One type of popular beacon is termed BLE, for Bluetooth Low Energy (also sometimes known as Bluetooth Smart). These devices are small, battery powered devices that emit a low power (e.g., 10 mw or less, sometimes 1 mw or less) signal in the 2.4-2.485 GHz ISM frequency band. The signal typically conveys a plural-bit identifier, which is established by data stored in a memory of the beacon. In some devices, the memory is rewriteable. Some beacons also include sensors (e.g., accelerometer and temperature sensors), and data from the sensor(s) is among the information encoded in the transmitted signal.
In many applications, after a consumer device senses the beacon's plural bit identifier, it consults a data structure (e.g., a table or database) to obtain associated information or metadata, such as what action should be taken in response to detection of that beacon. This data structure may be part of the consumer device, or it may be remote, e.g., the identifier may be sent to a remote server, and the associated information is then returned to the consumer device from the server.
BLE technology was originally developed by Nokia, and marketed under the name Wibree. Its technical details are familiar to artisans and are reviewed, e.g., in the Wikipedia article for “Bluetooth Low Energy” and in Honkanen, et al, “Low End Extension for Bluetooth,” IEEE Radio and Wireless Conference, 2004. The current standard governing the technology is the Bluetooth 4.2 Specification (available from the Bluetooth Special Interest Group body; the core of the spec is available at the https web site www<dot>Bluetooth<dot>org/en-us/specification/adopted-specifications/Core_v4.2.pdf.)
BLE hardware is available from various suppliers, including Gimbal, Inc. and Estimote, Inc.
Many consumer devices support BLE interaction, including Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod devices running iOS7 or later. A number of applications for BLE have been proposed or implemented. These include:                Offering short-duration discounts and other incentives to nearby shoppers and other visitors.        Providing information and reviews about products on a given store shelf.        Providing directional guidance, e.g., to seats in a sports stadium, or to exhibits in a museum.        Personalized product recommendations, e.g., based on shopper history.        Access to digital magazines newspapers and magazines in doctor offices and other waiting areas.        Automated mobile tour guides in museums and other places.        Control of home automation based on user presence.        Toys that can react to location and other nearby toys.        Alerting commuters at a bus station that their bus has arrived.        Geofencing applications.        
Additional prior art information on beacon technology, including certain related applications, is detailed in Apple's patent publications, including U.S. Pat. No. 8,718,620, 20090215398, 20100198626, 20120117274, 20130078979, 20130203445, and 20140019367.